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E. J. BRooKs.

METALLIC TAG.

PatentgLMay 22,1883. Fig/J'.

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@msiU-'MCENLQ UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

EDWARD J. BROOKS, OE EAST ORANGE, NEWJERSEY, AssIGNOa To E. J.

BROOKS 85 CO., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METALLIC TAG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,214, dated May 22, 1883.

. Application filed November 16, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom 'tt may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at East f Orange, in' the State `of New Jersey, have invented anew and useful Improvenientin Tags or Labels, of which the following is a specifi. cation.

In my drawings and specifications forming part of Letters Paten t No. 254,601, dated March i 1ov 7, 1882, for sealingpress,7 and No. 259.472,

dared June 13, 1882, for label-rack for freight y most com monly, the weather very often affectsl such cards, so that their inscriptions become Washed off or com pletely obliterated before the cars reach their destinations. Moreover, such cards can be used but' once, and their cost, including printing and handling, the wear and tear ofcars, if they are tacked on, and that of 3o their racks, ifthe latter are used. together with the first cost of such racks, makeup a heavy item of expense to be covered by earnings of railway companies and freight lines. The racks are also objectionable because they hide the lettering on the cards or deface them, so as to hinder or prevent readily reading them r to a greater or less extent.

In the Hamilton patent, No. 167,525, dated September 7,1875, now owned by E. J. BROOKS 4o Sz CO., an ordinary paper shipping-tag used in connection with a metallic seal as a substitute for the larger car-card is shown. A tag o f this description is as perishable and as costly, and limited to use once, and once only, as the pa- 4 5 per car-card, and in order to preserve its shape it must be made so small that it is impossible or difficult to read its Written transient matter by lantern-light after handling it to turn its face outward. An accidental or mischievous 5o pull is sufficient to tear it off in an instant, and

its loss almost inevitably follows. Consequently, and owing to other practical objections, paper tags of Athis description are not used to any considerable extent as substitutes for car-cards.'

My present invention consists iu strong and durable water-proof tags or labels of a novel construction, as hereinafter set forth and claimed. The same have been desigued,pri marily, for use on railway freightcars as substi- 6o tutes for the perishable labeling cards and tags aforesaid, and to be suspended in the form of tags, so as to fully expose their faces, 'with freedom from liability to destruction, d e` facement, or loss in any ofthe aforesaid ways.

Figure 1 ou the sheet of drawings which accompanies this specitication is a face view of an unused waterproof tag or label in the form of a tag for freight-cars, illustratingthis invention. Fig. 2 is another face view of the same 7o as' used. Fig. 3 represents au exaggerated section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isafacc view of another species of the saule genus of tags or labels; and Figz is another face view,

showing another species of my said tags or labels with aholder,asillustrativemeansfor attaching the same. This holder forms no part of my present invention, but is hereby reserved for a future application for patent.

Like letters of reference indicate correspond- 8o ing parts in the several figures.

I propose to make my uater-proof tags or labels for railway frcightcars of various shapes and sizes, suited to the various requirements of different railway companies and freight-lines, for marking cars carrying local freight as well as through cars, and for showing the utmost that is shown on the large cards now in use and in like conspicuous characters, as well as the simpler marks which are sometimes elngo ployed. I have therefore shown three tags, or labels in the form of tags, A B C of different sizes and shapes, and have selected the first, A, Figs. l to 3, as the smallest and most simple, to exhibit the features of novelty which are conunon to all the forms. Water-proof tags or labels for use on railway freight-cars (and `for analogous uses) should be, and it is the object of this invention to produce tags or labels which are, not only water-proof, or adapted for roo 2 essere exposure to wind and weather, but sufficiently rigid to keep their shape during repeated uses, strong enough to resist accidental and misohievous pulls, andadapted to be made of distinguishing colors for different uses, and to bear such transient marks as may be necessary, as Well as the permanent printed matter77 commonly used forfacilitatin g their preparation and manifesting genuineness, and to be freed from such transient marks for repeated use. To accomplish this object I make each tag or label as follows: I take suitable thin metal, preferably tin, (tin-plate,) for the body7 e, and provide one or both sides of the same, preferably both sides, with enamelj y, of any desired color, said enamel being formed'by painting themetal and baking or burning in7 the paint in a man ner well known. Upon the face of the tag, or each face, it' reversible tags be desired, I print with an ordinary printers ink the required perlnanent matter in characters x, and burn the same in, so that it becomes incorporated with the enamel y and absolutely indelible. The body metal is enameled, and the enamel is printed, as above, in the sheet,77 and the sheets of metal are subsequently stamped or cut and stamped into tags, or labels in the form of tags, for example, of suitable size and shape, as shown, for example, with perforations to, one or more, near the upper edge ot' each, by which to suspend the tag or label upon the side of a car, or to fasten the same in place, as illustrated by Fig. 5. A tag or label so finished and ready for use is illustrated by Fig. l. The date, number of car, initials of consignee, description ot contents, or any one or more of these Which may be used, with,in some cases, the names of the shipping-places from which and to which the car goes, and the name of the sealer, or any such or otherlike transient or special marks, must be supplied as occasion demands. I have discovered that said venamel furnishes an excellent foundation for such marks, printed by means of a.rubber stamp, or written by means of a suitable pen of rubber, quill, or steel, or a suitable pencil of rubber, orv stenciled (preferably the former) with a water-proof ink mixed with turpentine. This ink adheres with all requisite tenacity to said enamel, being absolutely water-prooi", While it can be readily sponged oft' with turpentine without in any manner otherwisedefacing or impairing the tao'. Any suitable water-proof ink adapted to be so used may be employed, together with any suitable chemical for erasing the marks made therewith. l so print or write such transient matter in characters, ma, erasable by means of turpentine, for example, but not by water, and so pro- -vide for the repeated use of the tags or labels. This I propose to systematize as follows: On the arrival of each car at its destination its tag or label must be taken olf by the opener ofthe car and returned to the oli-ice which is.

sued the tag or label as a kind of receipt,

required. When so received back at the oiceA which originally issued them they will be examined and noted, and then passed to a boy or girl, who, with a. sponge dipped in turpentine, will quickly and easily remove all traces of the said transient matter, together with dnger marks and the like, from their faces, restoring the tags or labels substantially to their original condition. They will then be ready to be used over again, and will be sent out to the proper stations for use. The tags or labels may be so cleaned and reused from thirty to fifty or a hundred times at a trilling outlay for labor and materials, thus saving thousands of dollars annually to their users.

In printing the backs of reversible tags or labels provision will be made for their use upon cars in returning them. On one side, for instance, will be Milwaukee to Boston, ma L. S. Se M. S. Ry., by C. & H. R. R. It. 8s B. St A. It. It, and on the other side Boston to Milwaukee, oa B. du A. It. It., by C. St H. R. R. It. & L. S. & M. S. Ry. This would obviate returning the tags or labels in bulk.

I propose to use the construction of tags shown b v the drawings accompanying this specification, as above described, and substantially the aforesaid system of reuse, in providing a substitute for paper tags now used in conuectionwith or as substitutes for baggage1 checks, by railway passenger lines and express companies, the permanent marks (rr) and transient matter (wat) to be appropriate to particn-V lar uses ofthe tags, asin the illustrations, Figs. l to 5.

My ear tags or labels above described may be fastened or held by means of the car-door lock or seal in any approved way, or morel loosely fastened, or otherwise attached in any 4preferred manner.

To attach tags or labels in the form of tags ot' large size, I prefer to use a suitable holder. D, Fig. 5, represents such a holder employed to attach the said tagv or label O. As I do not claim the holder herein, I omit any further description thereof.

I claim as new and desire to patent under this specilication* An improved tag having a body of sheet metal provided with an impermeable enamel, and with permanent marks indelibly incorporated in said enamel, and having blank spaces adapted t-o receive water-proof transient marks upon said enamel, as herein specified, for the purposes set forth.

EDXVARD J. BROOIS.

Witnesses: y

L. H. FRIEBERGER, E. HARLAND.

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